our life in a city. with a dog. a baby boy. and food.

over the weekend, Jeff and I were reminiscing about how much we loved staying at the carneros inn a few years ago and how we so wished we were there now instead of studying for exams. then, coincidentally, Alaina over at LiveCreatingYourselfbloggedraved yesterday about how much she loved this place, too. that prompted me to dig around for these old photos from our august 2009 trip. (since i was 9 years old there have only been one or two California-less years, due to my dad’s work events, and friends and family who are based there; in more recent years, there have even been biannual trips since Jeff’s dad lives there now. sadly, there was no 2010 california visit, but we’re hoping to make it west soon! and definitely swing by Carneros again).

[all photos ours, …and p.s. i loved that red mug from the Boon Fly Cafe so much that i bought it so it could come home with me. it makes everything taste better.]

a few months back (at the end of january, actually) Jeff and I went to one of our favorite weekend spots: st. michael’s, maryland. while there, we celebrated our 7-years-together/3-years-since-our-engagement/1-year-and-8-months-married anniversary (I hear that’s a very common type of anniversary, right?). we enjoyed the cozy inn where we had stayed the year before thanks to a great offer on jetsetter and ate delicious food – the highlight of which was arugula and fennel pizza and powdered dough from ava’s. on a cloudy monday, we explored the town and even tried our hand at antiquing.this was our first real attempt at “antiquing” although we have been in thrift shops many times before. is there an official distinction? i mean, in both cases there are vintage goods, but for some reason the prices seem to be drastically different. we found a few cute shops, but in the end only came away with two purchases – an adorable tiny owl placard and an early 20th-century suggestion box which looks a bit like a footstool (both not pictured, but i’ll try to snap some photos soon when we take pictures of our little place). there were also these two items that i’m still pining for: an awesome blue sugar canister in excellent vintage condition but pricy ($65! but i would seriously plan an entire kitchen around this thing) and then that adorable little dress. the cute collar and print won me over, but it had some stains that worried me… well, that and the fact that we don’t have or know any little girls that size. so… they got left behind. and yes, i still think about them even three months later.it was an overcast weekend but still picturesque, peaceful and relaxing. st. michael’s is so charming and a perfect getaway for anyone in the DC/ Baltimore/ Philadelphia/ New Jersey/ or even New York area. it is also gorgeous in springtime (and i’m sure the same goes for fall). perfect wedding location, too.

on the drive home from atlantic city, we went to Barnegat Lighthouse. i went here many times with my grandparents when i was younger. walking along the jetty brings a flood of memories, particularly my grandmom’s tuna fish sandwiches.
the grey skies made this place even more special. beautifully understated.

things you won’t usually hear us say:
“hey, we’re going to Atlantic City.” but alas, we did. we went to check it off our list of sites to see in our great state of new jersey. and also because there was a really cool hotel on jetsetter that enticed us to get away for the first night of spring break. the hotel was lovely, and the weather rather perfect. (while exploring the beach, a man walked up and started talking about donald trump. he then proceeded to say that “you photographer types are all the same” to which i replied “thanks so much” as we walked away. i don’t think i should’ve been thanking him so much, but it was hard to say, really. we had many questions.) there were some cool, albeit seemingly abandoned, art deco buildings along the boardwalk, including the old convention center. we hope they are restoring it because it gives a glimpse into what the glory days of atlantic city must have been like. before arriving in atlantic city, we stopped by Margate (the next town over), in order to visit Lucy, the world’s largest elephant. ever. it’s a must-see.
built in 1881, she was a huge attraction at the height of atlantic city’s popularity. the town fought to save her in the mid-20th century, at which point she underwent major restoration.
we climbed to the top of Lucy and learned her history. you can see the ocean through her eyes. i think she’s quite cool. apparently Margate thinks so too since they put her on their water tower. we enjoyed ourselves and our little trip, but there’s something you will never hear us say, and that’s “AC baby.” no, we won’t ever say that.

Washington Monument; National Portrait Gallery; Smithsonian American Art Museum
National Gallery of Art; sunset on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol
vegan soul food at Vegetarian Soul Cafe in Shaw; Sticky Fingers cinnamon bun; Sean and root beer at Sticky Fingers Bakery in Columbia Heights
National Gallery of Art – East Building, admiring the Rothko’s; friends in front of the pretty American flag exhibition at the National Museum of American History beautiful display of goods at Baked and Wired; delicious Sprinkles cupcakes (ours had the cute “v” for vegan red velvet – seriously amazing. we love food. but we also love our friends and had such a fun time meeting up with them for the weekend. we’re hoping for more little trips like that in our future!)